Posted by Karla/OR on 10/9/11 2:19am
Msg #399987

HAS THIS EVER HAPPENED TO YOU . . .?

I accepted a job from a signing company for Saturday evening - they told me I would be in and out in 15 minutes. (I told them I had a wedding to attend two hours after the assigned time).

Turns out I waited in the lobby of a hotel for TWO HOURS until I was called in for a (FLAT FEE) signing. (I missed the wedding but did make it in time for the reception!)

Have any of you experienced a wait like this? I did put these details in the comments section when I submitted my completion report to the signing company (would they care at all??).

Thanks.

Reply by yoshaCA on 10/9/11 3:57am
Msg #399990

I think I would have left after I realized that it was not what was promised and you clearly stated that you had somewhere important to be. It is reasonable to wait 30 minutes, but 2 hours is not reasonable to make you wait.

Reply by C. Rivera Chicago Notary Services on 10/9/11 6:37am
Msg #399991

Perhaps utilizing your time a bit more wisely is the best

advice I can give to anyone in this type of situation.

Waiting about 15-20 minutes is sufficient time, especially if BO's are in the hotel and are scrambling to gather the documents they need to bring to the closing. After 20 minutes, I would have left to enjoy the wedding! Maybe I would've stayed up to 30 minutes if the wedding didn't involve siblings but 2nd or 3rd cousins getting hitched.

What if you were scheduled for another closing afterwards? Not only would you have missed that one, BUT the chances of you getting hired by that hiring party, would be very slim to none.

Some NSA's have forgetton that "time is money", and THEIR time is valuable! Obviously waiting 2 hours was a total waste of your time because you missed the wedding.

I'm not all convinced that the SS "would care at all" or even appreciate your "loyalty", as most SS seldom do, as long as the job was done so they can get paid, and not worry to pay you until 30-60 days out!

That's the way it is....

Reply by Karla/OR on 10/9/11 1:43pm
Msg #400013

See my PM - thanks. n/m

Reply by Notarysigner on 10/9/11 7:58am
Msg #399993

On the hour, I would have called and Email SS (for the record) no borrower and ask what do you want me to do? If the answer is wait, I charge $50.00 1/2 wait time. If the answer is no I leave. If I get no response from the SS I wait 15 mins then I'm gone. Remember they're (SS) the one who provide to out of hour emergency contact number, they should answer it. IMO

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 10/9/11 8:13am
Msg #399994

No way would I wait 2 hours to START the signing

20 minutes and I'm leaving, calling SS to tell them to reschedule for a more convenient time for the signers because, obviously, the signers weren't ready to proceed.

I certainly hope your completion report and your invoice included a charge for your "sit in the lobby" time...

Also, you'll find in this business tht you NEVER believe "in and out in xx minutes" - it almost never works out like that - if I were in your particular situation with a wedding to attend I'd have declined the signing.

JMO

Reply by Shoshana/AZ on 10/9/11 8:22am
Msg #399995

I would have never scheduled a signing that

was supposed to happen two hours before I had to go to a wedding or any other important event! I also never wait more than 1/2 hour for someone.

Reply by MW/VA on 10/9/11 8:39am
Msg #399996

No way. The other posts have already pointed it out, but

you need take control of your business. You're the boss! If you showed up, waited 15-20 minutes & no one showed, I'd have left. Did you call the ss during that 2 hours? The ss isn't going to care that you wasted your day. It's not their problem--it's yours.

Reply by HouTexJoe on 10/9/11 9:48am
Msg #400001

At the risk of being accused of practicing psychoananysis without a license I ask, did you really want to attend the ceremony?

Reply by Karla/OR on 10/9/11 1:48pm
Msg #400014

That's funny you mentioned that! The man getting married was an employee where my husband works. I don't know the couple that well. So it wasn't like a close friend or family wedding where I would have been devastated had I missed it! My husband did go ahead of me and I met him there. I was not upset that I had to come late either as I was gaining notary experience. Enjoy your day. Thanks.

Reply by Susan Fischer on 10/9/11 4:06pm
Msg #400022

Karla, your positivity on the learning curve is stupendous. n/m

Reply by Karla/OR on 10/10/11 1:49am
Msg #400036

You, Ms. QM, are very kind. Thank you. n/m

Reply by Scriba/NM on 10/9/11 11:18am
Msg #400005

Re: YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE OPERATING A BUSINESS

There are rules to go by if you have been in the business and have experience.
If not, then you hear of all kinds of weirdness from people running around bumping into walls.

1. If you have someplace to be, don't schedule a signing right on top of an event you were supposed to be at (unless you just didn't care).

2. Never believe the line of garbage given to you by other people who don't know how to run their business or who just plain lie to get a signing placed and done with (i.e., "just a few pages....." "in and out in a few minutes....." "only a couple of miles from you..."

3. After 15 minutes call the emergency number given to you. If you didn't receive one (quite often the case) attempt contact with the party you are supposed to be signing. If no answer, leave a message. No one in their right mind will ever wait two hours. Do you really expect to be paid for two hours of wait time AND your regular signing/trip/print fee? Duh.........

4. Call the regular telephone number for the company you are supposedly working for (or being taken advantage of, or whatever) and recite the details on their answering machine.

5. Get in your vehicle and drive away. Let the signing party and the company iron out the ridiculous details. If it was important to the signers and you did your job by VERIFYING the appointment with them (you didn't mention if you did this or not) they would have been there.

This job, as I have repeatedly stated, is not rocket science but one of common sense.

(By the way, I actually signed a Rocket Scientist three weeks ago from Sandia National Labs. He was very smart but really didn't know diddley about his refi.....his wife arranged it).

Run your business like a business.....or continue to do crazy stuff like waiting for two hours.

Reply by JulieD/KS on 10/9/11 1:08pm
Msg #400010

Re: YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE OPERATING A BUSINESS

I agree with the responses you've gotten here.
You are a business person and if you have an appt at 2pm, the people need to be available at that time; if they aren't available, call the SS (or Title) and let them know.
Unless you are being paid to sit and wait, don't sit and wait.

One thing I've learned is that when a company who wants to hire me starts telling me it will only take a few minutes and the package is VERY small...that means one thing: They don't want to pay me much so they are trying to minimize the amount of time I'll have to spend.
It usually takes much longer than they say and the package is often much larger.

Reply by GOLDGIRL/CA on 10/9/11 1:50pm
Msg #400015

ARE YOU COMPLETELY NUTS?!? You're an NSA, not a doormat.

I can't imagine why you'd do anything you liked for two hours straight, let alone cool your heels in a hotel lobby while everybody from top to bottom took advantage of you - or, more accurately, you let them take advantage of you. So, in answer to your two questions: "Has this ever happened to you?" Obviously, yes, this or somthing like this has happened to all of us - probably many times. That's why we can sympathize with you and offer you all this great advice on how to handle it in the future. As to your other question: "Would they care at all?" A big fat NO!

Read, study and memorize all the fabulous responses you got to your post and you will be the lucky recipient of years and years of wisdom gathered through the school of hard knocks by fellow professional NSAs. You're not alone in this. We've all been there. We've all kicked ourselves for letting this stuff happen. And this will happen again - only next time, you'll be in charge and know what to do! (Or at least know you're being taken advantage of and roll with the punches if circumstances are such that there's not much you can do about it.)

Actually, I'm kinda agreeing with HouTexJoe. There might be something else going on here - you didn't make it to the wedding, but you somehow managed to time it right to get to the reception with all the yummy food and cake and partying ... hmmm?

Reply by LKT/CA on 10/9/11 3:35pm
Msg #400019

Re: YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE OPERATING A BUSINESS

<<<(By the way, I actually signed a Rocket Scientist three weeks ago from Sandia National Labs. He was very smart but really didn't know diddley about his refi.....his wife arranged it). >>>

Two years ago, I completed a signing for a nuclear physicist - she too didn't know about the refi docs. Nuclear physics is her game - real estate isn't. I suppose some people are smart about *their* field but clueless about some other fields, and that's okay.

Reply by Karla/OR on 10/9/11 1:51pm
Msg #400016

THANK YOU ALL for your valuable responses!!! :O) n/m

Reply by Riley/FL on 10/9/11 2:08pm
Msg #400017

Also, take James' advice. CYA!

Email the hiring party right away before leaving if you can.

Reply by MW/VA on 10/9/11 6:11pm
Msg #400027

Wow. Your response shows true professionalism. :-) n/m

Reply by LKT/CA on 10/9/11 3:51pm
Msg #400020

<<<I accepted a job from a signing company for Saturday evening - they told me I would be in and out in 15 minutes.>>>

Too many variables in the equation for the SS to know how long a signing will take. I'd not schedule a signing too close to an important event *because* there are so many variables that can infringe upon the event's time.

<<<Turns out I waited in the lobby of a hotel for TWO HOURS until I was called in for a (FLAT FEE) signing.>>>

I would make phone calls to both the borrowers and the hiring party after 15 mins. If no response, I'd leave messages - stating that I am there, the signing was scheduled for X time, it is now X time and I will wait until X time, then I will leave. I'd then wait an additional 10 mins. then I'd leave.

<<<Have any of you experienced a wait like this?>>>

NO.....25 minutes is the max time that I'd wait for the borrowers. If they called back on the 26th min and my schedule was clear, I'd do the signing. But like in your case, if I had an event to attend, I would not answer their call, leave and attend my event. If the borrowers are not respecting your time before the signing, they surely are not going to respect your time *during* the signing.

Take control of your schedule.

Reply by Susan Fischer on 10/9/11 6:27pm
Msg #400030

It helps to know this was not a refi, and no borrowers -

this was a timeshare thing that never should have gone through a SS.

I got cash on the barrel head, offered by the presenters, and accepted by me for a 4-hour time slot. Never have Notarized, but that's not all they paid for, either.

Reply by CJ on 10/10/11 12:09am
Msg #400033

My 2 cents.

I have been notarizing for years, and I recall a few unpleasant situations.

One time they said, "It's just one Grant Deed, it will take 5 minutes", so they talked me into a very low, "one doc" fee. They really have NO IDEA how long it's going to take or what might go wrong. It WAS just a grant deed, like they said, but the people were not sure if they wanted to sign it. They were on the phone to all kinds of people for 2 hours making sure they money was paid, that people put things in writing and faxed it to them etc. before they signed it. Like I said, for the ONE grant deed, I was there for 2 hours.

Another time, I took at job in the morning and my daughter's graduation was that afternoon. I don't remember clearly what happened at the signing, but there was lots of reading, etc, and I did almost miss my daughter's graduation. I told them I had to go and my daughter was graduating, etc., but they could care less: you are there to serve them, and they don't care about your life. My policy after that: NEVER schedule ANYTHING on the date of an important event. Docs could be late, they could start making long-winded phone calls, they might insist on reading everything, docs might have to be dropped today instead of tomorrow, and fax-backs first (that they forgot to tell you about.) Just say NO to signing on the same day as important events.

Another time I took a job Christmas Eve. My family was getting ready to open presents and I said I would be back in an hour. NO WAY. They turned out to be readers, they had already been to church and they did not care about my Christmas, and they turned out to be readers. I got home at 10:30 at night, which in retrospect, was selfish of me to risk ruining my family's Christmas (which I did ruin) so I could make a little extra money that night. It was not worth it. My family waited until I got back to open presents. I felt terrible. But the borrowers didn't: they could care less.

Another time I went to a time-share thing. I did not have anything else scheduled, so I did not care if they were late. It did only take a few minutes to notarize the docs (like the said), but the presentation ran over time by an hour, so I sat in the lobby for an hour before they called me for the quickie notarization. I am glad I had no other appointments to worry about. The people who promise you that it won't take long, are not going to be their to make sure of that.

Another time (this is fuzzy in my recollection), the borrowers did not sign. I knew the docs were correct, but I knew the people did not understand them, and once they got a hold of someone to assure them that everything was okay, they would sign. My husband and I had already planned a vacation for a few days. After the signing, we took the train to San Diego, 6 hours away. I called the SS and said I hid the docs in a package on my porch if they needed another notary to finish during the week, that notary could pick up the docs. We took the train down Friday night, had a great Saturday, and then got a call on Saturday night that they wanted to sign on Sunday after all, and they insisted that I do it. So we cut our vacation short and took the train back on Sunday morning. The borrowers did not care one iota that they messed up our vacation just because they were too nervous to sign during my first trip. That story happened many years ago.

Reply by JanetK_CA on 10/10/11 12:40am
Msg #400034

Re: My 2 cents.

If someone showed that little consideration of my time to begin with, there's no way I would cut short a vacation to accommodate THEIR schedule - especially on a weekend! Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, well, I imagine we all know the rest...

I think the pervasive theme for this entire thread is that people can only take advantage of us to the extent that we let them. We sometimes get lumped in with all the other "they..." who some borrowers think are taking advantage of them and they're determined to not get taken. Or they're just so into themselves that they don't really consider anyone else. I believe that one of the toughest things about our business sometimes is effectively setting boundaries - and lots of posts here seem to back that up.

Reply by Karla/OR on 10/10/11 1:45am
Msg #400035

CJ~ eye-opening stories to say the least! Thanks! n/m

Reply by RedBaron/IN on 10/10/11 6:09pm
Msg #400089

Re: CJ~ eye-opening stories to say the least! Thanks!

I call the SS or TC and give them a drop dead time. And with iPhones I can also text or email them to put the drop dead time in writing.